IKEA STARKVIND Hides A Smart Air Purifier In A Handy Side Table

IKEA has a new air purifier, though at first glance you might assume STARKVIND is actually a side-table, since the Scandinavian design company has integrated the two. Connected to IKEA's TRÅDFRI smart home platform, the STARKVIND air purifier aims to tackle not only air quality but one of the big challenges purifiers face.

This isn't IKEA's first air purifier. The company launched the FÖRNUFTIG back in April, an unexpectedly low-cost option at a time when air purity was a big concern during the pandemic. Where that model was effectively a simple enclosure for a filter – and the fan and controls to take advantage of it – this STARKVIND air purifier puts much more of an emphasis on design.

The potential advantage there is more flexibility among owners to position the purifier in a room. Traditional air purifiers aren't typically described as aesthetically pleasing: they're usually boxes with a big mesh on the front and the top. Although useful, they're hardly easy on the eye.

STARKVIND, however, comes in both floor and side table models. The former stands upright, with a fabric front-plate – in black or white – that covers the particle and gas filters. It looks more like a fancy B&O speaker than an air purifier, frankly.

The STARKVIND side table version, meanwhile, disguises its filtration tech even more. It comes with solid wood legs – finished in light or dark stained wood veneer – and a useful tabletop, in the hope that you'll position it a little more centrally in your living space. Cable management is built into the table legs. That way you're more likely to reap the rewards of all that air purification.

Both link to the IKEA Home smart app via the TRÅDFRI gateway, so you can remotely control them, monitor air quality, and switch between normal, boost, and standby modes. The app will also send out notifications when it's time to replace the filters, and owners will be able to order those replacements within the app too.

Alternatively, there are controls on the purifiers themselves, with an auto mode that relies on an air sensor to adjust fan speed. There are five manual speeds, with up to 215 square feet of room capacity. The PM2.5 particle filter that's suppled has a CADR of 260 m3/h at the maximum fan speed; the gas filter is optional, and drops the CADR to 240 m3/h. Noise level, IKEA says, is between 24 and 53 dB, depending on fan speed, while power consumption varies similarly between 2W and 33W; there's a child lock for safety.

Sales of the IKEA STARKVIND will begin in October 2021 in the US. The STARKVIND table will be $189, while the standalone STARKVIND air purifier will be $129. Pricing for the two filters will be confirmed closer to launch.